Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra reacted to BCCI Secretary Jay Shah’s statement about fielding multiple teams simultaneously in the future. He said that although it may happen, depth may not be there.
Fielding two teams at the same time speak volume of the rich pool of talent in Indian cricket. In July 2021, while Virat Kohli led the Test team in England, Shikhar Dhawan captained the young side in Sri Lanka for a white-ball series.
A similar sort of thing happened recently when senior players were preparing in England for the one-off Test, Hardik Pandya led the second-string side against Ireland.
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BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had also said that fans may get to see more of two teams playing at the same time. He said he had a discussion with NCA head VVS Laxman and they would always have 50 players on their roster at a time.
“I have had discussions with NCA head VVS Laxman and we will always have 50 players in our roster. In future, you will have a scenario, where the Indian Test team will be playing a series in one country and the white-ball team will be engaged in a series in a different country. We are going in that direction where we will have two national teams ready at the same time,” Jay Shah told PTI.
Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra reacted to Jay Shah’s statement, saying that although he feels proud as an Indian, it can be taken with a ‘pinch of salt.
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"Our Honorable BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had said that with the help of VVS Laxman, who is the head at NCA, they are preparing a pool of 50 players. With such depth, you feel proud as an Indian. But you need to take this with a pinch of salt," Aakash Chopra said.
Chopra said India were "bullish" about winning even with their second-string side after the remarkable tour of Sri Lanka in 2021.
"India had sent a second-string side to Sri Lanka where the likes of Chetan Sakariya, Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad made their debuts. After whatever happened on that tour, we were very bullish that we would field two teams and win everywhere," he said.
Chopra said that India got a reality check in South Africa, where they lost all the ODIs. He said that although they might field two teams at a time, depth will not be there.
"But India couldn't win a single game in South Africa in 2022. So suddenly you realized that the depth you are talking about may not be really there. That was like a reality check," he said.
